I’ve had songs written during the Falklands war, and during the first Gulf war I got letters from soldiers saying they were listening to these songs, like Island of no return.
BILLY BRAGGYou can have an argument with someone who’s a sceptic. When I say ‘cynic’, I mean someone who has given up, and they want you to give up too, so it makes them feel better about themselves.
More Billy Bragg Quotes
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I was in a little punk band and we put out a few punk records that weren’t very political, at all.
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I enjoyed so much working with the guys from Wilco, and riffing off of them, and having someone come up to me with ideas, because normally in the studio it’s me who has to come up with all the ideas.
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Mixing pop and politics he asks me what the use is / I offer him embarrassment and my usual excuses.
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I’m celebrating my love for you with a pint of beer and a new tattoo
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Whether we like it or not, we live in a post-ideological world. That’s how a Donald Trump can get through. He has no ideology at all: in that sense, he’s a bit like Mussolini.
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We’ve heard so much about the American dream: well, Trump is the American nightmare made flesh.
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You can experience a download, but you can’t download an experience.
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I think that ultimately Trump will lose the election and in the process destroy the Republican party – but then I’m an optimist, ha ha ha! So he might not lose. He might be in charge of the largest nuclear arsenal in the world!
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A nation with their freezers full are dancing in their seats, while outside another nation is sleeping in the streets.
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So, in some ways, the political songs tend to be a bit more like reportage, whereas the love songs tend to be like novels, you can pick them up off the shelf and go into them any time.
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If we accuse Trump of being a liar, he won’t just say ‘I never said that’ or just ignore it and go on to the next thing.
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Certainly, the international image of the United States today is a lot less positive than 10 years ago. And that really shouldn’t be, because you have been the victims of this awful terrorist attack, and I think America deserves the sympathy of the world.
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You have to believe that if the majority of people had their way, they would make a society that would be fair for everyone. If you don’t believe that, and if you think that the glass is always half empty, then you’re never going to have that sensibility.
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I came into this whole business by going to see Rock Against Racism gigs with the Clash.
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I’d like to think that in a generation or two we’ll have politicians whose life experience reflects that of the people who are voting for them.
BILLY BRAGG







